Biofilm formation on in-dwelling medical devices can lead to serious morbidity and mortality. Detection at the early stages of biofilm formation affords the ability to exchange the device with a new one prior to the establishment of an intractable infection and possible septicemia. There are also other applications in which biofilm contamination is highly undesirable.
The detection of biofilm in any material may provide notification that the material should be removed or replaced to mitigate the risk of contamination. However, current biofilm detection technology may be limited to complex systems.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.